COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bus carrying University of South Carolina students crashed, injuring multiple people and leaving the driver in critical condition.
"This is what we could call a large-scale event with multiple injuries," Trooper Cal Robertson with the Mississippi Highway Patrol said.
Robertson said 11 people were injured while taking a charter bus from Columbia to New Orleans, including students.
"I did talk to a student who heard a loud pop, so that led us to believe that there was a failure with one of the front steer tires," he said. "When the tire blew out, the student says the bus pulled hard to the left, and it crashed into a center concrete wall there."
He added that the crash ejected the driver, but a quick-thinking passenger grabbed the steering wheel and stopped the bus.
"The student said the driver stood up to try to get better leverage on the steering wheel and, when the impact happened, that ejected her from the front windshield," Roberston said. "[The student] jumped up there, grabbed the steering wheel, to try to get control of [the] bus and keep matters from getting worse and was able to get the bus to a stop there."
Members of USC's Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity were heading to New Orleans for an organization event when the bus crashed. The fraternity declined to comment on the situation.
In an updated statement, a university spokesperson said,
“USC remains in contact with local officials regarding students transported for treatment. Travel arrangements have been made for students who want to return to Columbia.
Once they arrive back to campus, USC will provide mental health resources and academic support services for students involved in the accident and anyone affected by it.”
Robertson said a nearby school district took care of the students.
"They had no transportation so a local school district, we were able to reach out to them," he said. "They brought school buses up there where the students could offload their luggage from the charter bus."
"They loaded them on the school busses, took them to a local city complex there, and the Hancock County EMA was able to arrange food for these college students," he added.
Officials said this is still under investigation and that they would release more details soon.